Plans for new models brighten the Valley

People are relieved at the news about the new car lines.

VINDICATOR STAFF REPORT

The Mahoning Valley is getting some new wheels, and that has people talking.

Two new models to keep the GM Lordstown assembly plant running, they’re saying, is great news.

U.S. Rep. Tim Ryan of Niles, D-17th, whose district includes Lordstown, said two new car lines at the GM complex “would be a home run for the Mahoning Valley and set the stage for further economic growth.”

GM could have built these cars anywhere, Ryan said, but the company chose Lordstown.

Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams hailed the news as “spectacular.”

Two car lines at Lordstown provides stability to the GM complex, one of the area’s largest employers.

“Hopefully this will stop the concerns we have every three or so years about the future of Lordstown,” he said.

In Austintown, where there are many GM families, people greeted the news with relief.

“That’s good news to hear,” said Elaine Clipse. “My husband works out there. He’s got 30 years in and was hoping to stay one more contract.”

On her mind, she said, is getting her two sons through college.

Clipse also said the Valley will definitely benefit. She and her husband, Bill, run Meander Homes, a construction company. “You can’t sell houses if there’s no one to buy them,” she said. “It’s all a domino effect.”

Former GM workers

Jim Stoddard, a Mineral Ridge resident who’s running for Weathersfield Township trustee, said he’s a GM retiree. “So obviously, it’s good for me,” he said. “I and anyone else around here are welcoming that kind of investment from GM in the area.”

Austintown resident Amber Nipper baby-sits for a former Delphi Packard Electric worker who took a buyout offer last year. So she’s seen firsthand, she said, the importance of keeping a large employer afloat. Her friend has had to train for another career.

Lordstown resident Diane Calain, wife of a GM retiree, said she is excited about the plant’s getting a new car. “It helps us maintain employment and keep people here,” she said.

Shirley Harris, of Warren, said a new car is exactly what the Mahoning Valley needs. “Let the new car come,” she said.

“Anything to keep business in Ohio is good news. We don’t want what happened at Eljer,” said Matt Dotson of Salem. Eljer Plumbingware, once a large employer in Salem, closed.

Dennis Johnson, a former GM worker who is chairman of the Columbiana County Democratic Party, responded to the news: “That’s fantastic! This is what everyone kept hoping for.”

Turning the corner

Johnson added that he had earlier talked to Jim Graham, the president of United Auto Workers Local 1112 in Lordstown about the drive to land another vehicle.

Johnson said Graham “was telling me about working with GM to get another model, and their effort to get that has paid off.”

Tracy Drake, executive director of the Columbiana County Port Authority, said this “couldn’t have come a better time. It shows we have a good work force.”

With GM’s announcement and the port authority’s plan to build a $4 billion coal-to-fuel plant near Wellsville, Drake said he believes the area has turned the corner and is back to being an economic leader in the nation.

Campbell Mayor John Dill said his entire staff is “elated” about the news. Campbell suffered a slight economic setback when GM-Lordstown offered buyouts to about half its employees in 2006, Dill said.

“As General Motors goes, that’s how the entire community goes,” he said.